Health and Gender in Female-Dominated Occupations: The Case of Male Nurses

The goal of this work is to examine the differential impact that carrying out nursing tasks may have on the health of male nurses who perform their work in female-dominated occupation, and the modulating effect of their conformity to male gender norms. Our study includes 98 male nurses and 98 female nurses, from the University Hospital of Getafe, (in Madrid). The participants completed sociodemographic questionnaire, physical health and Self-perceived Job Satisfaction questionnaires, the GHQ-12, and the Conformity to Gender Norms Questionnaires (CMNI). In general, the male nurses enjoy better health than the female nurses in the variables analyzed. With regard to conformity to masculine gender norms, they show lower conformity to the traditional masculine gender norms than men from the general population. However, the relation of the studied health variables with conformity to masculine gender norms shows classic pattern of habitual health in the men.